Fear

Fearer - It is a well known defect among the Karlyns. The specimen who has this illness has reoccuring imagine things about wild dangers, things that threathen's it's life. In some of the cases the patient dreams about humanoid attackers, mostly about non-Karlyns. It's the only registered illness that has unknown way of spreading. It is rumoured that it contages via telepathy but no evidence has been found to support that statement. In all the cases when a Karlyn is found having the symptoms is being locked up because most of them tend to be aggressive and in many cases they hurt their companions and in 2 registered case they commited murder.

As they were leaving the gravity field of Kahlindon Jos has took a blink to the small segment of the sreen showing his own planet. The green-blue sphere seemed a slightly different than in the records. It's just because this is his first long range journey - he thought. As he was looking around he saw the faces of his Second and Third. They were observing the calculations and feedback informations showing up on the screen. They doesn't seem as excited as he felt himself, but he thought that they are just too busy in their duties. After the first 30 minutes of their flight Jos felt that he can relax a bit. He noticed only 2 warnings complaining about operational temperature of two components. It was the first time when he had a look at the stars on the screen behind the informations on it. 2 minutes ago he just passed the point of being the further from home.
- We are at leaping range now, - Takh said - we should start the Leaping sequence, First.
- Proceed then. - said Jos.
Takh just touched a few points at the screen. - We are now swimming. - Takh annnounced.
Jos was glad to has Takh as his Third. They knew each other for long years, and he felt that he is the nearest person to him.
Jos has just got up from his post and headed toward the door - I'm leaving the bridge to you, Second. - and he stepped out to the corridor. He just felt a little trembling as he left the bridge. He approached his cabin's door in quick steps, opened the the door, entered. He touched a sensor next to the door and in a moment the door has been closed shut. He leaned on the opposite wall then just sat on the gound. His mind has been flooded with thoughts and a picture of a strange looking man just began to appear in his mind. He saw this man approaching him, and heard a very strange and frightening voice from the direction of the man. The man almost reached him and Jos has raised his arm above his head unconciously..

First Launch

Amakyr - one of the two orbiting moons above Kahlindon. The moon was colonised in the 6th century of the GU by the Karlyns. It's atmosphere and the great oasises around the lakes make the moon habitable. It's vegetation provides food for about one and a half million people. Latest estimated population is about 14 million, so the moon requires a frequent supply from it's home planet. Most people is attracted there by it's exclusiveness even despite it's much higher prices than of their home planet and the hard life.

It was a bit chilly night - he thought. He felt that this night was unique somehow - maybe it's because a storm was coming from the far side of the mountains. He saw the flashes of the lightnings reflected by the clouds above the Makhli mountains as he was walking home towards them to his beloved wife.
As he reached a curve on his path he has glimpsed the vibrating lights coming from the spaceport which lied on the foot of the Makh. It must be an another 80 day's supply ship to Amakyr. He never understood the people who wanted to live on that moon. It's small, dusty, crowded. He supposed that he never could live elsewhere, particularly not on another planet nor moon. As he was making his way, he heard a faint humming and the dying echoes from the direction of the spaceport. As he looked there he saw that the lights vibrated more intensively around the station. He stopped for a while and stared a bit. He enjoyed this play of the bright spots - it was like the glittering stars on a warm night's sky. Then he continued his way home and was thinking about that how many people would be there at the space station. Based on the number of vibrating dots, half of the city should be there. He never liked crowds. While he was thinking about how he dislike the hypes about those spaceflights the humming voice strenghtened. A weird but familiar noise could be heard. The engines of the ship were ignited. In a few steps his path turned to the left, so he could not see the spaceport from that time on. He was very exhausted after his work; his thoughts has returned to his basic emotions and feelings. "Walking home" - "big crowds" - "my wife" - "cargoships" - "Amakyr.."
The engines of the ship has been powered up and he heard the sound of the rising ship. Between the blue leaves of the surrounding trees he saw the purple light of the vessel's engine for a few moments as it was making it's way to the open space.
"Just another cargo ship" - he finally thought then he turned to the road that directly lead him home.

He was all wrong. He didn't heard the news recently - or maybe he just forgot it - it was the first manned interstellar space vessel which destination was not the Amakyr but the nearest star system, the Gakhilon D itself.